i8 
HOUSE AND GARDEN 
January, 1913 
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A pressure tank supplied with water by means 
of a gasoline engine and pump 
the ordinary piping without the simply operating cut-offs. 
In some localities just at the edge of town where the house 
can be served either by the municipal water works or by one’s 
own water supply plant, owners are frequently in doubt which 
to choose. Water supply under such circumstances should be 
determined by cost of operation. One can figure quite accurately 
the cost of operation of a water supply outfit operated by a gas 
engine or electric motor. Manufacturers’ figures can usually be 
depended upon and the house owner should first estimate the 
cost of water furnished by the municipality and compare it with 
cost of water supplied by one’s own plant. Of course the only 
fair way to judge of the two systems is to take into consideration 
the quality of the water furnished as well as its cost. 
Artesian well water supplied by so many municipal plants is 
frequently so hard 
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FWLJJUKL ittUU- sary to have two 
kinds of water in 
the house, town 
water for drinking 
purposes and “soft" 
water for laundry 
and bath. Much ar¬ 
tesian water contains 
such a percentage of 
lime that it is im¬ 
possible to get up a 
good lather with it. 
There are several 
compounds that can be bought to soften hard water for the bath, 
most of which consist of powder or lumps to be put into water 
before bathing. These produce water approximately “soft " but 
not so good as rain water. 
Lime precipitated 
by artesian well 
water when it is 
heated (as in the 
hot water heater 
and range boiler) is 
the source of much 
trouble in plumbing 
and heating pipes 
and radiators. In 
some places, also, 
the heating of arte¬ 
sian well water produces an acid 
that attacks pipes and causes 
them to disintegrate soon. 
To offset some of these 
troubles caused by artesian well 
water it is a very good idea to 
install a separate water supply system 
of “soft” water, piped to the laundry 
tubs, kitchen sink and bathrooms. 
This usually consists of a compression 
tank in the basement drawing water 
from a cistern built in the yard, fed 
by rain water from the roof by means 
of the downspouts. 
The compression tank in the base¬ 
ment is operated by a pump run by a 
gas engine or electric motor working 
automatically, the pump forcing water 
from the cistern into the pressure 
tank, the latter being a boiler-plate 
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The best type of windmill installation has a 
pressure tank in the basement 
A concrete cistern renders moun¬ 
tain spring water available 
tank built 
pressure. 
to withstand considerable 
water into the 
Forcing 
The hydraulic ram system is simple 
and effective 
pressure tank bot¬ 
tles up air con¬ 
tained at the other 
end of the tank, 
forming, in fact, 
compressed air. 
The more water 
forced into the 
tank, the higher 
this air pressure 
which sends 
water from the 
tank to the vari¬ 
ous fixtures in 
the house, the en¬ 
tire operation be- 
i n g automatic. 
When a faucet is 
opened, water is 
supplied from the 
tank under pres- 
sure and after 
considerable 
water has been 
used the pressure 
falls in the tank, releasing an automatic switch which starts the 
pump again and forces more water into the tank, thus again in¬ 
creasing pressure. When the pressure has arisen to the proper 
point a switch automatically shuts off power and the pump stops. 
Of course when soft water in addition to hard water is piped to 
the various fixtures, a third pipe line and faucet are required at 
each fixture. Thus, hot soft water is delivered at one, cold soft 
water at another and cold hard water at the third. In many 
houses soft water is carried simply to the laundry tubs, hard 
water being used at the kitchen sink and in the bathrooms. 
When special soap is used to counteract the effect of hard water 
this is a fairly satisfactory way. 
Instead of using a pressure tank operated by electric motor or 
gas engine, many house owners install pressure tanks, operated 
by a hand pump. With these it is necessary to pump the tank 
only about three-quarters full of water once in so many hours, 
depending upon the amount of water used. This- is a perfectly 
practical installation for small houses where consumption of 
water is not too large, for hand pumps operate easily by means 
of a lever pulled forward and backward. 
When the municipal water supply is taken from a river or 
lake the water is-usually sufficiently soft for all purposes, mak¬ 
ing it unnecessary to have an independent soft water supply. In 
this case the owner need merely have the water tested to make 
sure that it is pure and fit to use. 
For those who cannot use, 
water.-lively _ or do not desire to use the 
municipal water system, there 
are many ways open to pro¬ 
cure an efficient, adequate sup¬ 
ply of pure water. The first 
thing the country house owner 
should consider is the source 
of his water supply, for upon this source de¬ 
pends the proper system for piping water 
to the house. For instance, if the new house 
is in the mountains a most practical solution of the 
problem may be to tap a spring high up on the moun¬ 
tain side, piping water down to the house. Or in a 
more level country if water is to be brought from a 
stream or pool a hydraulic ram may be advisable to 
force it into the house. A driven or dug well may be 
